The purpose of this article is twofold: to describe a model for understanding how students' responses to science are related to the degree of congruency between their worlds of family, friends, school, and science; and to explore the implications of this model for practice and policy in science education. The study focuses on the meaning-perspectives of students to understand how they differentially experience school science. On the basis of classroom observations, teacher recommendation, and students' willingness, 43 high school science students were interviewed to gain information on their perceptions of school and science, the importance and influence of friends on these perceptions, and family conditions that were significant to their lives. Through the identification of five distinctive patterns regarding the relationship between personal experiences and success in school and science, this study draws attention to the necessity of curriculum and school practices that facilitate the integration of students' multiple worlds.

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The purpose of this article is twofold: to characterize and describe school science as a rite of passage, and to expose problems in school science that are made visible through the use of this metaphor. Like other rite‐of‐passage studies by van Gennep, Turner, and White, school‐science‐as‐a‐rite‐of‐passage follows the classic model: First, science students are separated from other students through their enrollment in introductory science classes and laboratory (the phase of separation). Science students are then secluded in the classroom and laboratory where a specialized body of knowledge unique to the scientific community is transmitted to them (the phase of transition). Eventually, students are presented via graduation ceremonies to the ordinary world with accompanying changes in their status and rights (the phase of reincorporation). However, unlike traditional passage rites, school science is a lengthy and ambiguous process that muddles the points of separation and reincorporation and fails to clarify the value of transition rituals.

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